📘 Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 550
❖ Question:
Is raising the hands (rafʿ al-yadayn) along with the takbīrs in the Eid prayers established from any authentic ḥadīth?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Performing rafʿ al-yadayn (raising both hands) with every additional takbīr in the Eid prayers is Sunnah, and it is established from authentic narrations of the Prophet ﷺ.
📜 Evidence ①
Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
يَرْفَعُهُمَا فِي كُلِّ تَكْبِيرَةٍ يُكَبِّرُهَا قَبْلَ الرُّكُوعِ حَتَّى تَنْقَضِيَ صَلَاتُهُ۔
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 1, p. 464, ḥadīth no. 722; al-Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah, vol. 3, p. 22; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, vol. 1, p. 288)
Translation:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would raise both his hands with every takbīr that he made before bowing (rukūʿ), until his prayer was completed.”
✅ Authentication and Commentary:
- The muhaddith of Sharḥ al-Sunnah declared the isnād of this ḥadīth to be ṣaḥīḥ (authentic).
- The narrator Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd has been disputed, but the majority declared him trustworthy when narrating from reliable teachers.
- Al-Nasāʾī said: “If he says ḥaddathanā or akhbaranā, he is reliable.” (al-Kāshif, 1/106, no. 626)
- In this ḥadīth, Baqiyyah clearly stated his samaʿ (hearing) from al-Zubaydī, whose full name is Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿĀmir, a trustworthy and firm narrator of both Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, p. 322).
- Therefore, this narration is authentic according to the criteria of the scholars of ḥadīth.
Shaykh Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله also regarded Baqiyyah as “ṣadūq” (truthful) and ḥasan al-ḥadīth when he explicitly stated hearing from his teachers (Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah, nos. 4601, 621, 648, 730, 802).
📜 Evidence ②
Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَرْفَعُهُمَا فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ وَتَكْبِيرَةٍ كَبَّرَهَا قَبْلَ الرُّكُوعِ، حَتَّى تَنْقَضِيَ صَلَاتُهُ۔
(Musnad Aḥmad, 2/134; al-Muntaqā Ibn al-Jārūd, no. 178, p. 69; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, 1/289)
Translation:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to raise both his hands in every rakʿah and with every takbīr that he made before bowing (rukūʿ), until his prayer was completed.”
✅ Verification:
- The narrator Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī explicitly stated his hearing (samaʿ) in this narration.
- His student Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Muslim ibn Akhī al-Zuhrī is among the narrators of the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah (Six Authentic Collections) and is regarded by the majority as trustworthy (thiqah) and truthful (ṣadūq).
- Described by al-Dhahabī as: “al-imām al-ʿālim al-thiqah.” (Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 8/197)
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said: “He was truthful, though he sometimes made mistakes.” (Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb)
Since his narration does not contradict that of stronger narrators, this ḥadīth is ḥasan li-dhātihī, and when supported by the previous narration, it reaches the level of ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrih — authentic by corroboration.
Meaning and Application:
The narrations clearly state that the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands with every takbīr before rukūʿ.
Hence, the same applies to the extra takbīrs (takbīrāt-e-zāʾidah) of the Eid prayers, since they occur before rukūʿ.
Therefore, raising the hands with each takbīr in the Eid prayers is Sunnah, and any claim to the contrary is unfounded.
🧾 Response to al-Albānī’s Interpretation:
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله accepted the second narration as authentic according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, but he restricted it only to the regular farḍ prayers and not to the additional takbīrs of Eid (Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 3/113, no. 630).
However, this restriction is weak, because:
الْعِبْرَةُ بِعُمُومِ اللَّفْظِ لَا بِخُصُوصِ السَّبَبِ
“Consideration is given to the general wording of a text, not to its specific cause.”
(Fatḥ al-Bārī; Taujīh al-Qārī, p. 81, by Shaykh Thanāʾullāh al-Zāhidī)
Since no valid specification exists, the general rule applies — thus, these ḥadīths also include the takbīrs of Eid.
Imām al-Bayhaqī and Ibn al-Mundhir likewise used this ḥadīth as evidence for rafʿ al-yadayn in the Eid takbīrs (Talkhīṣ al-Khabīr, 2/86).
Hence, al-Albānī’s interpretation is rejected.
Statements of the Scholars:
- Imām Mālik رحمه الله was reported (in Aḥkām al-ʿĪdayn by al-Firyābī, p. 83) to have said:
“Raise your hands with every takbīr, although I do not know of any explicit proof regarding it.”
The correct understanding is that Imām Mālik was unaware of a direct ḥadīth at that moment — not that he denied its authenticity. - Al-Awzāʿī رحمه الله (the great ḥadīth scholar of Shām) is reported with a sound chain to have said:
“Raise the hands with all the takbīrs of Eid.” (Aḥkām al-ʿĪdayn by al-Firyābī, p. 182) - ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ رحمه الله (a senior Tābiʿī) held the same view.
(Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, 3/297 — sanad ṣaḥīḥ)
Conclusion:
◈ Performing rafʿ al-yadayn with every takbīr in the Eid prayers is Sunnah, established from authentic narrations of the Prophet ﷺ.
◈ Denying it or labeling it an innovation (bidʿah) is incorrect and contrary to the evidence.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
